PERCEPTIONS OF PEDAGOGICAL AFFORDANCE OF SMART MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

Year 2015, Volume: 2 , 165 - 172, 01.09.2015

Khitam Shraim Helen Crompton

Abstract

Smart mobile devices are becoming
ubiquitous among educators and students in Palestine. Mobile devices can be
used to provide learning that is contextualized, personalized and unrestricted
by location and time. Although these device capabilities are available, many
faculty in higher education are not effectively incorporating this technology
into their teaching. This study therefore examined academics’ perceptions of
the value of integrating mobile devices into their teaching activities. A
questionnaire survey collected data from 56 academic staff of the Palestine
Technical University - Kadoorie, eliciting perceptions of the pedagogical
affordance of mobile devices and challenges to their use in teaching. The
findings show that participants were still at the stage of actively
experimenting with smartphones and iPads, trialing their use at different
levels and for different purposes. In general, although participants were
unaware of the full potential of their functionalities, they viewed positively
the various pedagogical affordances of integrating these devices into their
teaching activities. The most important affordances were linking formal and
informal learning spaces by providing anywhere-anytime learning opportunities,
and developing interest in the subject matter, thus making learning more
enjoyable, meaningful, and accessible. 
The results also identify various challenges including lack of
experience and knowledge, finding the time to design and implement such
integration, and selecting appropriate apps for the content being taught.
Participants also expressed concerns with the limited connectivity and
unreliability of Wi-Fi and 3G/4G networks in Palestine.

Keywords

Faculty perception, smart mobile devices, mLearning, affordance, self-efficacy

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